Broken Wings
by HeyAssButtImBatman
Summary: On a regular demon hunt, Sam, Dean, and Cas find the demons torturing an archangel they had thought was dead. Now they are attempting to keep him safe while he heals, but that seems to be a near impossible task as danger seems to follow the archangel everywhere.
1. Chapter 1

Castiel heard it first, what with his angel powers and all. He motioned for Sam and Dean to be quiet, then pointed upstairs. They all heard it this time, a loud, pain-filled scream. Without further hesitation, the three of them silently made their way up rotting wooden steps, to a hallway with five doors in it. The door at the end of the hallway was cracked, and they could just barely see the face of a demon through it. Sam looked at Cas questioningly and Cas mouthed, _They have an angel._ Sam's eyes widened in surprise, and he relayed the information to Dean. The three of them carefully stepped down the hallway, and poised by the door. Then, with a nod from Cas, they burst through the door, catching the demons by surprise. That advantage was soon lost, however, when the hunters saw how many demons they were dealing with. At least twenty pairs of black eyes stared at them, surrounding a man tied to a chair who the hunters could just barely see.

Then, all at once, the demons attacked. Sam slashed left and right with his knife, and on the other side of the room he could see Cas killing demon after demon with his mojo. By the time the demons were dead, they were all extremely tired, but otherwise unhurt. Dean had been untying the angel, and Sam gasped when he finally saw who it was. Gabriel lay limp in Dean's arms, six golden wings protruding from his back and dragging across the floor. He looked terrible. There were multiple stab wounds all over his body, a few of them leaking Grace, and his arms and legs were a mess of bruises and cuts. From what Sam could see of his back, he was covered in whip-lashes and burns. The worst were his wings, though. They were bleeding and bent at odd angles, obviously broken. There were multiple cuts all along them, and pierced through each wing was a thick metal cuff. The golden feathers were almost all broken or bent out of place.

"Gabriel? I thought Lucifer killed him." Sam's voice held the confusion he felt at seeing the angel alive.

"Well, obviously Satan had other plans for his brother," Dean snapped. "We have to hurry and get out of here before more demons come back." The three of them left, not caring about stealth anymore. The whole way to the Impala, Cas kept throwing worried looks at his brother. When they finally reached the car, they didn't know how they were going to fit Gabriel's six, ten-foot wings in the car.

"Dean," Cas said. "I know you don't like flying with angels, but it's the only way to get us all to Bobby's." Dean looked at his car, then at Cas, then at the unconscious angel in his arms.

"Fine," he growled. Dean squinted as Cas' fingers touched Sam and Dean's foreheads, and they found themselves in Bobby's living room. "Bobby! Get down here, we have an emergency!" Sam and Cas moved the furniture out of the way and Dean laid the archangel on the space they had created. When Bobby finally trumped down the stairs, Sam had already cut off Gabriel's shirt and was washing the blood off of his skin. Dean pulled Bobby aside to explain, while Cas hovered protectively around his brother. With near expert fingers, Sam cleaned, stitched and bandaged every wound. Then carefully flipping him onto his back, he started on the burns and lacerations. By the time he had finished, Bobby was up to speed, and he and Dean had left to give Sam more space to work.

"Cas, I don't know how to fix angel wings." Sam looked at the angel to find him looking thoughtfully back at Sam.

"Since they are on the physical plane, I would assume you treat them like any other broken bone. Sam nodded and positioned himself next to the first wing.

"I'll need you to hold him down, this is going to hurt." Cas obeyed and held onto Gabriel's shoulders. When Cas nodded that he was ready, Sam took a deep breath, grabbed the wing, and pulled. Instantly, Gabriel was up and screaming in pain. He tried to flap his wings to get away, and would have knocked Sam and Cas aside had Bobby and Dean not came and helped hold him down. "Gabriel! Gabriel, look at me." Sam's voice was gentle, but commanding and the archangel looked up at him with tears streaming down his face. "This is going to hurt, a lot, but we need to fix your wings, okay?" Gabriel nodded and buried his face into a pillow to muffle his screams as Sam set the bones in his wings and held them in place with splints.

By the third wing, though, the pain had become too much, for which Sam was glad, as it made his job a lot easier. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he continued to fix the archangel's broken wings. When he had finished, he lifted him up and made his way to the guest room. There he set the unconscious angel down gently and left, leaving the door open. He made his way downstairs and heard the others talking.

"...since the hotel where he attempted to take on Lucifer," Cas was saying. "If so, that means he's been tortured for weeks." Sam went to the fridge in the kitchen and brought back four beers. After passing them out, he sank onto the sofa with a tired groan.

"You don't look so good, Sammy," Dean said.

"I'm fine, just tired. I'll sleep after i finish my beer." Dean just nodded and turned back to the conversation. Sam sat lost in thought. IF he really had been Lucifer's captive since the hotel, that would make everything that had happened to him his and Dean's fault. True to his word, he went up to his room after finishing his beer. He didn't even bother putting on pajamas, just stripped off his jeans and flannel and flopped into bed. He was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.


	2. Chapter 2

Loud groaning woke Sam up a few hours later.

"Dean, shut up," he mumbled, pressing his head farther into his pillows. Then, all at once, he remembered everything that had happened yesterday. Lifting his head so fast he got dizzy, Sam looked over at the other bed in the room he was sharing with Dean. It was empty, which means that Dean wasn't making those incredibly pain-filled sounds, which means that Gabriel was awake, alone and in pain. "Shit!"

He jumped out of the bed and ran to the other guest room to find Gabriel curled up on the bed. His wings were flared out behind him and tears flowed down his face.

"Gabriel? Are you okay?" What an incredibly stupid question.

"It...hurts," Gabriel whimpered. He bit his lip and groaned again.

"Okay, what hurts? Your wings?" Gabriel just nodded. Sam didn't know anything about angel wings, so he called the one person he knew who did. "Hey Cas! Get down here, I need some help with Gabriel!" Almost immediately, Castiel stood next to Sam. He only ever appeared that fast when Dean called him, and in any other situation Sam would have laughed.

Cas went over to Gabriel's bed and placed two fingers on his forehead. Instantly, Gabriel was asleep, his face peaceful and relaxed. Cars then gently rubbed his hands over Gabriel's wings, and a slight glow came from the angels palms before it spiraled into the archangel's feathery appendages. Dean and Bobby chose that moment to burst through the door, worry etched on their faces.

"What's wrong?" Dean gasped. He had his pistol in his hand and was aiming it around the room as if expecting something to jump out at them.

"Nothing is wrong, Dean. Gabriel was just in pain." Cas' deep voice said before he turned to Sam. "Normally I would keep him unconscious until his wings were fully healed, though because of the cuffs he will now need to eat to stay alive, so I cannot. I will be back every hour to check on him." And with that he was gone.

The three hunters glanced once more at the sleeping archangel before moving downstairs, only pausing so Sam could put on some clothes. Once in the living room, Sam could see a bottle of expensive looking vodka and two glasses out on the table. Sam raised an eyebrow.

"What?" Bobby snapped. "Every once in a while I'll break out the good stuff." He poured himself another glass before taking a sip.

"It's not even ten a.m. yet, Bobby," Sam pointed out. He only got a bitchface in return. Rolling his eyes, Sam poured a glass for himself.

"What do we do now?" Dean asked. The three of them looked at each other, completely clueless as to what they should be doing. Finally, Bobby broke the silence.

"I was looking at a hunt before you and those angels barged in here."

"Well, we won't be here any longer than necessary, so as soon as we're gone you can get back to doing your old person things." That comment earned Dean a book to the face.

"Like I was saying, I think there's a small nest of vamps about two hours from here. We could go check that out."

"Yeah, okay. But someone will have to stay with Feathers."

They looked at Bobby, who gave them another bitchface, and then at each other. Without saying a word they both raised a fist and engaged in a silent rock-paper-scissors game. Sam threw scissors and Dean threw rock. He cackled and ducked when Sam threw another book at him.

Dean and Bobby were ready to go in ten minutes, and Sam sighed as he listened to the Impala drive away. Since he was stuck here, he might as well do something useful. So, he pulled out his laptop and started researching angels and their wings. When Sam next checked the clock, he was surprised to find that four hours had passed since Dean and Bobby had left. Deciding that it was time for lunch, he went to the kitchen and made himself a sandwich, then remembered about Gabriel and made one for him, too.

Just as Sam finished, there was the sound of scuffling upstairs along with a loud "Shit!". Gripping the two plates tight, he ran upstairs into the guest room, at least expecting Gabriel to be in pain or having a seizure or something. So you can imagine his surprise when he found Gabriel cross-legged on the floor, reaching in vain for a spot on his wing too far for his tiny little arms to reach.

He growled and plopped his hands into his lap, twitching the wing every few seconds.

"What were you trying to do?" Sam asked, setting the plates down on the bed. He ducked under Gabriel's wing and sat down next to the archangel.

"My wing itches," Gabriel pouted. Sam raised an eyebrow. "Now that they're on this plane, they are susceptible to itching!" Gabriel sounded indignant, which just made Sam even more amused. Reaching over, he gently scratched the spot Gabriel was trying to reach.

The angel shivered at first, then melted into Sam's hand as he continued to scratch. After a moment Gabriel pulled away, and Sam handed him a sandwich. Laughing at Gabriel's confused face, he said "It's a sandwich. You eat it."

Gabriel gave him a look.

"No thanks. Got any chocolate?"

"Gabriel, you need to eat real food."

"Why?"

"Because if you don't, you'll starve to death."

Gabriel frowned. He sat thinking for a moment, before carefully pulling one of his wings closer to his body. He read the inscriptions on the cuff, then released the wing.

"Fuck."

"You said it. I have to teach you how to be human now."

"Not that, I already know how to be human. It's just that now I have to eat, sleep...bathe." He shuddered.

"Don't forget use the bathroom, wash your hair, shave…" Sam laughed at the disgusted look on the angel's face. "Just eat the damn sandwich, I don't want you passing out from hunger." With a sulky look on his face, Gabriel ate the entire sandwich, and Sam's, and drank the water Sam had brought him.

"So how are you holding up? I mean, is the pain bad?"

"Not really. Cassie fed me some of his Grace, so there practically no pain, but according to him, It'll take at least four months, two weeks, one day, five hours, and thirty-seven minutes for my body to completely heal." he counted off each measure of time on his fingers.

"Do you know how to get those cuffs off your wings?"

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but only an archangel can get them off."

"You _are_ an archangel."

Another eye roll. "No, I'm a human with wings and a bomb inside of him."

"Great, so who can get the cuffs off? I doubt Lucifer will, since he put them on in the first place."

As soon as the words were out of Sam's mouth, he regretted them. Gabriel's eyes lost the spark that always seemed to reside in them, his wings sagged a little, and he frowned.

"I'm sorry, Gabe. I wasn't thinking about what I was saying." Sam moved closer to the smaller man and wrapped an arm around him, accidentally smooshing a wing that Gabriel had tucked against his back. Gabriel tensed and the four broken wings became ramrod straight.

"Please stop." His voice sounded strained, as if he was holding back a scream.

"What?"

"Sam, it hurts, please stop."

Eyes widening in realization, he immediately let go. "Sorry. I forgot." That earned him a third eye roll.

"Can you walk?"

"Yes."

"Come on, then. It's boring downstairs by myself." Sam stood up and reached down to help the archangel up. Somehow, they managed to get his twenty foot wingspan through the door, down the stairs, and onto the couch. Once there, they just sat and watched some old cowboy movie that was playing on t.v. until Cas arrived.

"Hello," he said. Gabriel jumped in surprise and hit Sam with his wing, causing both of them to hiss in pain.

"A little warning next time."

"Apologies, brother. I just wished to check on you and inform you of my progress on finding a way to remove the cuffs."

"Great. Lay it on me."

"I have made no progress."

"Well did you really have to nearly give me a heart attack just to tell me that you got nothing?" Cas tilted his head. "Never mind."

"Hey, Cas," Sam said. "Dean and Bobby went on a hunt a few hours ago, and they should have called by now."

"Of course, Sam. I'll check in on them." With the sound of wings flapping, he was gone.

"Gabriel?"

"Hmm?"

"Pull up your shirt and lie on your stomach."

"You have to buy me dinner, first, Sam,it's only polite." Sam threw a bitchface and sat there staring until the angel huffed. "Fine. You're no fun." He pulled off his shirt and lay on his stomach on the couch. Sam went and got the first aid kit and pulled out the stuff for burns. His eyes widened when he looked at Gabriel's back. The skin was completely healed, with only a few scars to show that there had ever been any injuries at all.

"Gabriel, flip over." Gabriel did so without any comments, wary of the strange note in Sam's voice. Just as Sam had thought, the front of the angel was just as healed as the back of him. "Gabe, when Cas fed you his Grace, is it possible that he healed you?"

"No way. My Grace is too strong for his Grace to heal. Mine would just absorb his."

"Well, then how do you explain your body being healed?"

The Trickster just rolled his eyes. "My Grace is still there, and it still works. I just can't control it."

"So, how long will your wings take to heal?"

"I don't know, but I don't think it'll take too long. The broken ones feel better already and all the cuts and holes have healed already."

"What? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I thought I wouldn't have to, since it's pretty obvious," he said, rolling his eyes.

Sam frowned. "How do you roll your eyes so much without getting a headache?"

"Call it a talent." Gabriel said, once more rolling his eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

The next hour went by with nothing extremely interesting happening. Gabriel complained about being bored, Sam got annoyed, Gabriel became even more annoying, and Sam locked him in his room. That was how Bobby, Dean, and Cas found them when they returned a little after two p.m.

"Hey."

"Hey, Sam. Where's Gabriel?" Sam motioned for them to be quiet and they listened, confused expressions on their faces when they heard the Trickster pounding on his door, demanding to be released. "You locked him in his room?"

"He was being a bitch."

"Nice."

Bobby rolled his eyes. "Idjits," he muttered. Him and Dean went into the kitchen to get some food and the first aid kit while Cas went upstairs to rescue his brother. Needless to say, Gabriel was not amused and refused to talk to Sam for the rest of the day, which the hunter didn't mind. Dinner was uneventful though everyone was surprised when Gabriel passed out on the couch at nine.

"Well, somebody was tired. Now get him offa my couch, before I sit on him and break him."

Sam lifted Gabriel and carried him into his room, setting him down on the bed and closing the door. The rest of the night flew by, what with him and Dean getting drunk off their asses and being sobered up around midnight by Castiel. The brothers made their way to their room, falling into their beds with exaggerated groans.

"Night, Dean."

"Mmm."

Around three, Sam woke up. He looked around in confusion for a moment, unsure what disturbed him. After another ten minutes of being unable to go to sleep, he decided to check on Gabriel. Faint whimpering met Sam as he stood outside of the archangel's door, and he quickly, but quietly, slipped in.

Gabriel was curled up with the sheets twisted around his legs. His two not broken wings were wrapped protectively around himself and the others were twitching with whatever nightmare he was having, though Sam found it easy to guess.

"Luci, please don't, I'm your brother, don't no no stop stop stopstopstop STOP!" Gabriel sat straight up in bed, shaking with tears running down his face. He let out a huge sob and Sam couldn't help but go over and give the angel a hug. As soon as Sam touched Gabriel, however, he let out a strangled cry and jumped nearly a foot into the air.

"Sorry."

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"Sorry." This time, Gabriel didn't pull away when Sam went to give him a hug and even rested his head on the hunter's shoulder and hugged him back, sniffling and shuddering every few seconds.

"My brothers are such douchenozzles."

"Yeah, they are." They just sat like that for an hour, Sam silently comforting Gabriel through touch. Eventually, he fell back asleep, though he didn't release his death grip on Sam. Torn between getting up and disturbing the angel and sucking it up and sleeping next to him, Sam sat there awkwardly for a good five minutes. Oh, well. He might as well sleep here since he wanted to keep an eye on Gabriel. And it looked like he wouldn't have any more nightmares as long as Sam was holding him, anyway.

When Dean woke up the next morning and Sam wasn't in his bed, he assumed that he was downstairs eating breakfast. Bobby was already up but said he hadn't seen Sam come down, which meant that he was with Gabriel. Walking quietly up the stairs in case Gabe was sleeping, he opened the door and nearly choked. Sam was sleeping with Gabriel on the bed, and the best part: they were spooning!

Dean took out his phone and quickly took a picture before going back downstairs and showing Bobby. The old hunter laughed so hard that Sam and Gabe woke up and came downstairs to see what the noise was about.

As Dean predicted, Sam turned tomato red at the picture, while Gabe didn't even seem to be paying attention.

"Dude, what are you doing?"

"I'm trying to get this stupid splint off of my wing."

"They can't have healed already, it hasn't even been two days!"

"Yeah, what happened to Cas saying that it would take four months?" Sam's voice was amused.

"I guess he counted wrong. Now please, I'm begging you, take these things off!"

Further inspection by Sam revealed that Gabriel's wings had indeed healed completely, and were just a little bit sore. It wasn't so difficult for him to get around now that he could fold up his six wings to his back.

Around lunch the Winchesters decided that since Gabriel was well enough to travel, they would leave that very day. So, stuff was packed, farewells were said, and Gabriel was shut down when he tried to play one last prank on Bobby.

Before an hour had passed, they were on the road to Ackley, Wisconsin, where they had seen evidence of a werewolf. The car trip was maddening while Gabriel was awake, but luckily he fell asleep after a few hours. When they finally reached their destination, they immediately went to check into one of the grungy hotel rooms that they were used to.

"This is super boring." Gabriel's voice cut through Sam's concentration, and he looked up from the coroner's reports he and Dean had gotten while posing as FBI.

"Well maybe it wouldn't be, if you helped with the case."

"There's nothing to help with, though. I already know everything you need to know about this case."

"Oh, really?" Sam didn't believe him, which made Gabriel indignant.

"Yes, really!"

"Do tell, then."

"Fine. It's two werewolves, not one. A mother and her pup. They turn at the same time every month and the mom is teaching her baby how to kill. Of course, they don't remember anything when they turn back, but their wolfy little selves recognise each other. They live at 459 North Beechnut Road, apartment 4C. They have a black Lexus enform, license plate L95HB7S."

Sam was staring at Gabriel by the time he was finished.

"How do you know all that?"

"I can't control my Grace, but it's still there and some of my abilities will randomly start working."

"Okay. Well then, let's go kill some werewolves."


	4. Chapter 4

Of course, Dean was suspicious when Sam told him what Gabriel had found out. He still didn't trust the Trickster, and the only reason he had agreed to help in the first place was because he was Cas' brother.

"How do you know he isn't lying?"

"Dean, come on. Why would he lie about this?"

"I don't know, but I just can't shake the feeling that something is gonna go wrong if we listen to him."

"Don't be such a wimp, it's just a werewolf. What's the worst that could happen?"

So, The two hunters packed up their gear and by midnight were camped outside the house Gabriel had told them the werewolves were. The archangel and Castiel were both in the backseat. By two, nothing had happened and they were all asleep, except for Cas. He could sense the presence of the werewolves and knew that he couldn't get distracted. For another thirty minutes he sat there before he felt a disturbance in the air.

"Dean, Sam, Gabriel, wake up. The werewolves are coming."

They were awake instantly. the brothers grabbed their silver bullet-filled guns and headed towards the house, Cas trailing behind.

"I guess I'll just stay here and guard the Impala," Gabriel said, wings ruffling in annoyance. Sam gave a brief wave but otherwise Gabriel got no acknowledgement. He watched as the hunters and angel cretpt up to the house, then freeze in surprise when the door suddenly burst open.

One full-grown female werewolf shot out, bowling Dean over and snarling at the trio. She threw her head up and howled, and they heard another, higher-pitched howl answer. A much smaller werewolf jumped out after its mother, landing behind her and snarling at the hunters.

Sam raised his gun to shoot, but before he could, the wolves vanished into the forest behind the house.

"Great," Dean panted. Other than a few shallow claw marks, he was fine. "Now we have to go trekking through a friggin' forest after some friggin' werewolves. Awesome." Sam looked over at Gabriel and motioned for him to stay there. Gabe rolled his eyes but got into the car.

"Okay, come on. They couldn't have gotten too far ahead." The three raced after the wolves, quickly catching up and cornering them at a huge oak tree. The mother snarled and threw herself at Cas, but Dean shot it before it could do any damage.

The three of them looked on rather sadly as the baby began to whine and cry at the sight of its mother. Neither Winchester could bring himself to shoot it, so Cas stepped forward and placed his hand on its forehead.

They left the bodies in the woods and returned as quickly as they could to the Impala, eager to get away before the cops were called. As they merged out of the tree line they stopped in shock for the second time that night.

Gabriel was running towards them, a look of fear on his face. Chasing him was the goddess Kali, flinging fireballs at him as he ran.

The other three wasted no time and sprinted after him.

"What did you do?!" Sam yelled.

"Nothing! She's just mad because Luci killed her boyfriend and she can't take on my brother, so she's coming to get revenge on me instead." They found a small cave and dove inside. Kali screamed angrily when she lost sight of them and ran right by without noticing the tiny opening.

"Dammit, Gabriel!"

"Dean, I do not believe this is Gabriel's fault."

"I know! Just...What do we do now?"

"I can transport us back to the motel. I know of a few sigils that could protect us from her."

"If it weren't for these stupid cuffs I could take her on. Now I'm just as weak as the rest of you."

"Thanks for that ego-boost, Gabe."

"My pleasure, Sam-a-lam."

Cas closed his eyes and they found themselves once again, in their motel room. Immediately, Sam and Dean began running around, packing up their stuff while Cas drew strange symbols on the windows with his blood.

Impressively, they were all packed and ready to go in five minutes.

Once they were on the road heading away from Kali, they relaxed enough to talk again.

Sam turned around in his seat to look at Gabriel. "How did Kali even find you?"

Gabriel shrugged. "She was probably tracking my Grace." And he wouldn't say anymore on the topic. After a few hours of silence they pulled into yet another roadside motel. Dean and Cas went to check in while Sam and Gabriel waited in the car.

"Hey Gabe?"

"Hmm?"

"Why haven't you had anymore nightmares?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you were tortured for weeks by your own brother and you only had one nightmare. That's really impressive and slightly worrying."

"Not really. It's always been like that. Even in Heaven Luci was a twisted bastard and would do all kinds of sick stuff to me. Before Dad created the other angels, it was just the four of us. And since I was the youngest, he could do whatever he wanted to me without anyone finding out."

"What would he do?"

"Most of the time, he would injure me, badly, just so that he could heal me again and do it all over again. He said he was trying to hone his healing skills but I think he just got off on torture."

"That's unbelievable."

"Well, believe it. I got all the nightmares out of my system millennia ago."

They sat in silence until Dean and Cas came back, each holding a key.

"Since Gabe has to sleep now, I figured he'd want a bed. You and Cas will share a room, and Sam and I will take the other." Dean explained, seeing their confused faces.

In no time at all, they were settled in and asleep, extremely exhausted from staying up all night, chasing two werewolves, and then running for their lives. They all, except Cas of course, slept almost the whole day, waking up around five to eat.

"So what do we do now?" Gabe asked around a mouthful of milkshake-dipped fries. He had to eat real food, now, but that didn't mean he couldn't still satisfy his sugar cravings.

"Now," said Sam. "We try to figure out a way to get these stupid cuffs off of your wings. It's getting ridiculous."

"What do you mean, Samsquatch?"

"Don't call me that. I mean, you can't leave the motel room because of your wings, they're freaking huge and I don't even know how you shower or put on clothes, and you've already broken that lamp fourteen times in the last hour alone and I don't know how Cas can keep fixing it."

"...I see your point. But last time I checked, Michael and Lucifer hated my guts, Raphael thinks I'm dead and I'd like it to stay that way, and the only other archangel who could remove the cuffs is trapped inside his own vessel. I want my power back, but I just don't see how I could get them off."

Dean took another bite of his burger and tried to speak. Sam gave him a disgusted look and he swallowed before trying again.

"I don't know if giving the Trickster back his powers is such a good idea."

"Dean, you wound me." Gabriel's hand went to his heart in mock sorrow.

"Can it, Feathers. The last time we met, you trapped us in TV Land and the time before that you killed me a hundred times. I'm just saying, a powerless Gabriel might be the best thing that's happened to me in a while."

Gabriel was suddenly dead serious. "You have no idea what it's like, being incredibly powerful and then having that power locked up inside you. My soul is literally chained down and everything that I am is slowly being destroyed."

Cas gasped, realization flooding his eyes. "What are you saying, Gabriel?"

"I'm saying that I'm Falling, and if these cuffs don't come off soon, I'll turn human for good."


	5. Chapter 5

There was sudden silence and Gabriel looked around at the other three.

"This is why I didn't tell you," he said around a mouthful of fries. "I knew you'd just worry. Well, I knew Cas would worry...and maybe Sam."

"Gabriel, let me see the cuffs one more time."

Gabriel spread out one of his huge wings so that Cas could read the inscription on the metal cuff. They all watched as the angel looked at the inscriptions.

"I don't understand. None of these symbols should be killing your Grace."

"It's not the individual symbols, Cassie, it's the combination of symbols. My wings _are_ my Grace, I can't hide my wings, and being on this plane is killing them, which in turn is killing my Grace." Cas frowned.

"You seem very calm about the whole thing." Gabriel just shrugged.

"I don't like it, but I've accepted it. The cuffs were put there at least three weeks ago." Sam stared at him with wide eyes, Dean looked at him suspiciously, and Cas tilted his head in confusion.

"Hey, I don't want to become human! I just don't see how we can prevent it. At least I won't be dead." For a while, they were silent, contemplating what this would mean for the former Trickster.

They went to bed that night with slightly heavier hearts than before. Dean, of course, didn't really care. As long as the archangel wasn't dying he could squash the feelings of guilt. Sam was exactly the opposite. He knew that none of this would have happened if they hadn't convinced Gabriel to stand up to his brother.

Castiel stood in the corner of his and Gabriel's room, watching over his brother as he slept. Before Lucifer's Fall, Gabriel had been extremely fun and loving to all of the other angels under his care. He still was, but certain events had slightly reshaped the brother Castiel had once known.

But, he still loved Gabriel and was doing everything in his power to help him. Right now, that meant making sure he didn't die in his sleep. Cas stood unblinking in the corner for hours, never letting his gaze wander off of his brother. Eventually, Gabe stirred and woke up, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

When he saw Cas, he yelped a little and fell off his bed.

"Good God, Cas, that's super creepy. How long have you been standing there?"

"Ever since you fell asleep."

"Oookay then. I'm going to go hunt down a vending machine."

"Gabriel, it is three in the morning."

"It's never too early for chocolate."

"This is a bad idea. What if someone sees your wings?" Gabriel picked up his jacket and pulled it on. The wings were, of course, still visible.

"Hmm. Hey, can you supersize this for me?" Castiel touched the jacket and it was instantly enormous, coming down to the Trickster's knees, just barely hiding the bottom feathers.

"Perfect. Now my wings are hidden. If I'm not back in ten minutes, assume I'm dead." Cas' eyes widened a little. "It was a joke, Cassie."

"I don't think that was funny." Gabriel huffed.

"Whatever. Seriously, though, I'll be back in a few minutes." He pulled open the door and shivered against the cool evening air before giving his brother a smile and pulling the door closed and leaving Cas in darkness.

Cas decided to check in on the Winchesters since he had nothing else to do. When he flew to their room, he was surprised to find them awake and watching T.V.

"Why are you up so late?" Sam and Dean both jumped a little, having not noticed Cas' silent arrival.

"Hello to you, too Cas." Dean's voice was sarcastic and he turned to look at the angel.

"Hello. Why are you up so late?"

"We couldn't sleep. The question is, what are _you_ doing here so late? Aren't you supposed to be watching Gabriel?"

"He went out for a few moments to...'hunt' down a vending machine." Cas said, making air quotes around the word 'hunt'.

Sam looked back at him. "You let him go out there with his wings visible?"

"His wings were covered. And besides, I don't _let_ Gabriel do anything. If I had tried to stop him, he would have pulled rank on me and I would've been forced to anyway."

"Yeah, I get that, but it's still dangerous out there for him. Without his powers, Gabriel's defenseless."

Dean turned back to the T.V. with a snort.

"Who cares? We did our part, we kept him safe while he healed. We don't owe him anything else."

"We owe him our lives, Dean. If he's in trouble we have to at least try to help him."

Dean looked at his brother in shock. "Have you forgotten what he did to us? The mystery spot, the killing me hundreds of times?"

Cas tuned out the rest of their bickering and focused on Gabriel's Grace, faint as it was. He thought he had felt a little fear from his brother… Yes there it was again! Gabriel was in trouble.

"Enough!" Both hunters stopped immediately and stared at him. Cas rarely raised his voice. "Gabriel is in need of assistance." Before either of them could say anything, Cas had flown them all to the general area he had felt Gabriel's Grace come from.

"Okay, so where is he?"

"He is here somewhere, Dean. I could not pinpoint his exact location because of the cuffs."

They started walking down the sidewalk, ears perked for any sound that could tell them where the archangel was. Coming around a corner, they saw him. He had on his giant jacket and was surrounded by three guys, all of them shorter than Sam, but stronger. There was slight fear on Gabriel's face, but also determination.

Before any of them could move, one of the guys had made a grab for Gabriel, but missed. He instead only ripped off Gabriel's jacket, exposing his wings. Their eyes looked ready to pop from their heads but then greedy looks came over their faces when they saw Gabriel's golden feathers.

The archangel arched his wings above his head, a move used to intimidate. It didn't work. The three just kept coming. Gabriel caught sight of Cas, Sam and Dean about to run to his rescue and held up one finger to say 'wait'. Then he flashed them a huge smile and turned back to his adversaries.

"You really don't want to do this, guys." His voice held a warning note in it but they weren't paying attention.

"I wonder how much we could sell those feathers for." Said one.

"Why sell the feathers when we could charge people more just to come look at him?" Another said.

"I warned you." Gabriel pulled his wings tight to his back and stepped back until he was under a streetlight. Then, when the goons were mere feet away, he whipped them out and held them slightly tilted towards the light. The result was glorious

The light bounced off of his six gold wings in a blinding flash, stopping the three in their tracks as they screamed and covered their eyes. Gabriel used the distraction and attacked.

It was incredible the way he moved, kicking and dodging and always dancing just out of their reach. His wings turned out to be a great weapon, and Sam, Dean and Cas stood in awe as they watched him fight. Here was the powerful archangel who had led armies, fought wars and decimated his enemies.

In less than five minutes he was the only one standing. Gabriel walked towards them with a satisfied smirk on his face, grabbing his jacket and making sure to step on every hand, head and foot that got in his way.

When he finally reached them, all they could do was stare for a few seconds. Then, Cas broke the silence.

"I told you it was a bad idea to go out this late."


	6. Chapter 6

Back at the motel, Gabriel found it hard to sleep with the adrenaline still coursing through him, so he bugged Sam until the hunter agreed to stay awake with him.

"Hey, Gabriel?"

"Hmm?"

"...Never mind." Gabriel narrowed his eyes a little and studied Sam. Then he walked over and sat on the bed next to him.

"Spill," he demanded.

"What?"

"I know you have something to ask, so spill. Don't try to deny it," he added, seeing Sam start to protest. "Your book is upside down and you look like I just tried to tell you the meaning of life."

Sam shrugged. "Fine. But don't get too annoyed, okay? And I want real answers with explanations, no yes or no answers, got it?" "

"I make no promises." Sam snorted and put his book down.

"Okay, so if the cuffs were put on you a few weeks ago, how come you didn't know they were turning you human?"

"When Lucifer put the cuffs on, I wasn't really conscious. Plus, he said they would 'kill me in the slowest way possible', so I thought they would just slowly destroy my Grace." Sam nodded.

"Makes sense. Where was Lucifer when we rescued you?"

"Long gone. Once he put the cuffs on, he left me for those stupid demons."

"That first night, when your wings were hurting, what was that?"

"You know that healing can be a very painful experience. That was my Grace attempting to heal itself."

"Okay. If your Grace is slowly dying, how did it heal you so fast? And how were you able to figure out that werewolf case? And how were Kali and Cas able to track your Grace?"

"Whoa, slow down, Moose. Alright, so my Grace is dying, yes, but for now it's still there. So, as long as I have some Grace, I'm technically still an angel. That's how I was tracked down by Kali and my little bro. As for the other stuff, those were...flukes." Sam looked confused, so Gabriel explained.

"My Grace is like a star in terms of energy. It's being squished down by the cuffs. You know what happens when a star dies, don't you?"

"It turns into a supernova?"

"Right-o. My Grace is being compacted by the cuffs, and if they get a little tight, my Grace lashes out. Like if you squeeze an orange, it'll burst and the juice will spill out. My Grace has its moments where it comes through a little and one of my powers is restored for a little bit."

Sam was silent as he thought about what Gabriel had said.

"Why did Cas say it would take four months for your wings to heal?"

"He didn't, Samsquatch. I was messing with you."

"Oh. Okay, what happened to your archangel blade?"

Gabriel's brow furrowed and he frowned. "Lucifer took it. He said something about melting it to make archangel bullets."

"Oh. That can't be good."

"No, really? What about the fact that the devil is making bullets that can kill everything but God made you think that something was wrong?"

"Ha ha." Sam said dryly. "Sarcasm is not appreciated. I do have a few more questions, though."

"Of course you do. alright, shoot."

"When you Fall, what'll happen to your wings? When angels fall from Heaven, their wings and Grace burn up from the heat and friction, right? You won't literally Fall, so will they just stay there?"

"Wow, I'm impressed with you. You're a lot smarter than I gave you credit for." Sam gave him a bitchface and Gabriel laughed. "Seriously though, I assume that my wings will just spontaneously combust." He frowned as he thought of what he just said. "That'll be painful."

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he looked over at Sam. "Anymore questions?"

"Yeah, just one. If you still have your Grace and are technically still an archangel, why do you have to eat and sleep and stuff?"

"I was wondering that myself, actually. I think it's because my Grace it too busy fighting back the cuffs to worry about keeping my vessel alive."

"Why do you talk about your Grace like it's a living thing?"

"Ah ah, Sam, you said one more question."

"Please, I'm really curious. Just tell me?" He gave Gabriel his best puppy dog eyes.

"Ugh, fine. My Grace is technically a living thing. An angel's Grace is essentially his soul. Your body and your soul can live apart from each other, just like an angel's Grace and vessel can live apart from each other."

"Oh, okay. Thanks for answering my questions, Gabe."

The archangel yawned and looked at the time. It was already four in the morning and they had been talking for thirty minutes.

"Well, not that this wasn't fun and all, but I'm gonna go to bed." He walked over to the other bed and slipped underneath the sheets. Suddenly, he sat up and pouted.

"I forgot about finding a vending machine! How am I supposed to go to sleep without my chocolate craving satisfied?" Sam laughed and tosses him a chocolate bar he pulled out of his bag.

"Here, you big baby. Now shut up and go to sleep."

Gabriel devoured the chocolate quickly, then sighed and sank onto the pillows.

"Good night, Sam."

"Good night, Gabe."

 **Sorry about the short chapter, just trying to fix some loose ends and such that I found. If you have an idea of what should happen next, PM me or leave a comment and I'll see if I can integrate it into the story. Thank you, Lovelies!**


	7. Chapter 7

"Why couldn't we just stay in Wisconsin?" Gabriel whined, causing Dean to grip the wheel with barely restrained irritation.

"Because we have another case to work, that's why."

"Yeah, well it seems to me like you have bigger concerns than a few ghosts and monsters."

"Oh, really? Like what?"

"Stopping the Apocalypse, for one. Figuring out a way to prevent the destruction of half the planet. Remember?"

"Sammy's doing research on it." They both looked at Sam, asleep in the passenger seat. "We'll figure something out, but in the meantime we can focus more on saving people."

Gabriel huffed and sat back in his seat, wincing as he did so. Dean noticed, but didn't ask him about it. He was getting used to the archangel, but didn't really want to instigate a friendship

The rest of the drive went slowly and it was much, much later that they found themselves pulling into a motel in Wilsons, Virginia. Dean called Cas to let him know where they were and they rented two rooms. The hunters left an hour or two later to check out the crime scenes (posing as FBI, of course) and left Gabriel explicit instructions not to leave his room for any reason short of a life-threatening emergency.

The former Trickster was incredibly bored all alone in his room. Daytime T.V. was terrible, there were no interesting books on the shelves, and he didn't have his power to snap up something to do. Still, as much as he wanted to go out and do something, he hadn't forgotten what had happened the last time he had gone out.

Lying on the bed with his head dangling off the edge, he noticed something. Frowning, he walked to a corner and touched the wall. Strung between his fingers in gross black strands was... ectoplasm? Shit.

The case Sam and Dean were working on was a ghost case, but Gabriel knew about ghosts and they couldn't just hop from the motel to the factory across town where the killings were taking place. Unless the ghost was tied to an object...that's it! The ghost was tied to something, and whoever it belongs to has access to the motel and the factory.

But there hadn't been any killing at the motel so far, so why was there ectoplasm in his room? As if answering his question a woman flickered into visibility, pale and covered in tattered rags and blood. Gabriel felt the blood drain from his face. As an archangel, ghosts were no threat. But he was human now and he didn't have the power to send restless spirits on.

Slowly, he circled the room, heading towards his phone on the bedside table, never taking his eyes off the ghost. She watched him warily, as if recognizing his suppressed Grace and realizing him as a threat. He reached the phone and dialed Sam's number. He picked up on the third ring.

"Gabriel, this better be good, I'm in the middle of an interview."

"Sam! Shut up for a second. The ghost is at the motel right now!"

"What?! Are you sure?"

"Yeah pretty sure, she's right there. I think she's tied to an object…" His voice trailed off as he noticed something. Squashed between the cushions of the couch was a necklace, extremely old and worn. It wasn't his, and he was willing to bet that that was the object the ghost was tied to. "I found the object, it's a necklace."

"Okay Gabe, me and Dean'll be there as soon as we can. Don't do anything stupid."

Gabriel didn't get the chance to reply as the ghost, tired of their staring contest, slammed him into a wall, hard. He cried out in pain and dropped the phone. Sam's voice started to get a little panicky when Gabriel didn't answer him. The ghost dropped the angel and laughed, a horrible high pitched sound. Gabriel ran to the small bathroom, grabbing the necklace and his bag along the way.

Ripping open his bag, he pulled out the large box of salt buried underneath the machete and barricaded himself in. Then, he broke open a lighter and covered the necklace in lighter fluid. A whole packet of matches was struck, and dropped onto the necklace.

"Come on, come on, just light already." Gabriel mumbled, watching the ghost scream in anger at not being able to reach him. Gabriel couldn't help but smirk at her anger, but that was the last straw for the ghost. Gabriel was slammed back into the wall, again and again. Black spots danced across his vision and he hissed in pain as his head struck the wall.

The pressure on his body started to squeeze, slowly cutting off his oxygen. He struggled, kicking and thrashing, but it didn't do any good. The ghost watched with a small evil smile on her face. Gabriel's kicks grew weaker and weaker.

Then, just before he passed out, the door slammed open and Sam and Dean burst in, shotguns aimed at the ghost. Before they could shoot, however, the stupid necklace finally caught fire. The ghost screamed in pain as she burned, finally releasing the pressure on Gabriel. He slumped down to the floor, and everything went black.

It was some time later when Gabriel woke up, wincing in pain as his head moved across the pillow. He groaned and Sam was there instantly, helping him sit up. He touched his head and felt a huge bump.

"Hey, how you feeling?" Sam asked.

Gabriel gave him a 'Really?' look. "I feel like crap. But I've felt worse, so I guess I'm good." He looked over at Cas, who was staring at him creepily, and gave him a pointed look.

"Care to help?" Cas started at though jolted out of his thoughts and walked over to Gabriel's bed, healing him with a touch. "Thank you, Cassie. So what was the deal with the ghost?"

Sam sat down next to him on the bed. "This woman used to live in this motel room and work at the factory, but she moved into an apartment and lost her necklace. The ghost was her sister, she had been killed at the factory when she fell into one of the machines, and she'd been randomly killing in her anger ever since."

Gabriel nodded. He went to his bag and pulled out a huge bag of candy. Dean stared in surprise at all the stuff sitting on top of gabriel's clothes: Silver bullets, silver knife, machete, salt and lighters, everything a hunter carries around.

"What's with the gear?" He asked, pulling out the machete to inspect it.

Gabriel pulled a lollipop out of his bag and licked it before answering. "I figured that if I was going to roll with you guys, I might as well be prepared for all the crazy shit you get yourselves into."

Dean accepted that answer and proceeded to drool over the extremely high quality looking pistol that Gabriel owned. Sam gave Gabriel an odd look.

"What?" Gabriel frowned, lollipop stick hanging out of his mouth like some weird tongue.

"Nothing, it's just...Gabriel, were you cursed?" The archangel was not expecting that question and choked on his lollipop.

"Not that I know of. Why?" He asked, eyes watering and throat itching.

"I don't- I mean...All the bad stuff that's happened to you." He finished lamely, looking at Gabriel with a sheepish expression.

Pulling the now candy-less stick out of his mouth and pointing at Sam, he said "You think I've been cursed because of all the bad luck I've been having?" Sam nodded. Gabriel reached back into his bag and pulled out a pack of Skittles.

"Makes sense, I guess. But nope, I'm just incredibly unlucky. Sorry to ruin your fantasies of saving me from a witch's curse, my knight in shining armor." He gave Sam a wink, causing the younger hunter to blush.

Dean, having concluded his search of Gabriel's bag, stood up and stretched. "Usually after a hunt I'm all beat up and in pain so I go find a bar somewhere, but this time it was you," he pointed at Gabriel, who was now working on a chocolate bar, "who got the worst of the beatings, so I'm going to go find a bar and get drunk for you."

Gabriel snorted. "Thanks, Dean-o, it means so much to me that I can count on you to drink my pain away." Dean gave a little wave as he left and Cas tilted his head.

"How can Dean drink away your pain?"

"I was being sarcastic, Cassie." He pulled a giant one pound gummy bear out of his bag and started gnawing on the ear. Sam looked at it with a look of disgust on his face.

"You know, Gabriel, now that you're human, if you keep eating all that sugar, you're going to get fat."

Gabriel stopped eating and looked at Sam with a look of horror on his face. The younger Winchester nodded solemnly. Gabriel looked at the gummy bear before slowly putting it back in the bag.

"I forgot about that."

"There are plenty of other healthy things you could eat that won't cause obesity and heart problems." He patted Gabriel's back then froze when the former archangel hissed in pain. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Samsquatch. Just sore." But his voice was tight with pain and Sam wasn't convinced. He pulled off Gabriel's oversized jacket to look at his wings. Six golden wings stared back up at him, completely fine except for the quivering.

"What's wrong with your wings?"

"I told you, they're sore. It happens every once in a while."

"So what do you do when that happens?"

"When I was in Heaven, one of my brothers or sisters would massage them. While I was Loki, I would knock myself out until it was over."

"It hurts that bad?"

"Yes, Sam." It was Castiel who answered. "It is extremely painful to have sore wings." He suddenly cocked his head and put his finger to his temple. "I am getting a call. I must go, I'll check in later." With the sound of wings flapping, he was gone.

"Twenty bucks says it was Dean calling." Sam said, causing Gabriel to laugh and then groan in pain when his wings were jolted.

"Seriously, Gabe, I can help you with your wings.

Gabriel looked at him curiously. "You're serious? You want to massage my wings?"

Sam shrugged. "If it'll help with the pain, then yeah."

"Alright, if you're sure. Just be careful, okay?"

"Okay."

 **Sorry about the shitty ending, it was just getting so long. Next chapter: Gabriel's wings get massaged and one hunter reveals some surprising feelings ;)**


	8. Chapter 8

Sam hesitantly put his hands on Gabriel's back, right where the wings connected, and began to rub in small circles. The effect was instantaneous. Gabriel let out a soft moan and leaned back. Feeling more confident, Sam let his hands roam all over Gabriel's back, rubbing the whole time. For a while they sat in comfortable silence. Gabriel moved over until he was lying on his stomach and Sam sat next to him, still massaging.

When he reached a particularly tense spot, he pushed a little harder to get the knots out. Gabriel's wings popped open, then lay limp and relaxed as Sam worked his magic. The feathers ruffled out and the angel draped them over the sides of the bed. After a few minutes, Sam looked at Gabriel's face and found him half asleep.

He stopped massaging and heard a quiet "Thanks, Sam".

"You're welcome." Sam said back, then grabbed his laptop and sat on the other bed. They sat like that for an hour, Sam growing increasingly more worried as he didn't find anything on how to stop Lucifer. He looked over at Gabriel and instantly calmed down. The angel looked so peaceful. It would be alright, Sam told himself. They'd find some way to stop the Apocalypse.

Sam stood up and stretched. He walked over to the tiny fridge plugged into the wall and pulled out a beer. He paused when one of Gabriel's huge wings suddenly flapped and landed right on Sam. It was a lot softer than he had expected. Sam couldn't help but reach up and stroke the silky feathers, causing Gabriel to sigh in his sleep. Sam chuckled and moved from underneath the wing.

He frowned when he saw the cuff. Even with them on, the angel's wings were magnificent, yet Sam couldn't help but wonder what they would look like with his Grace shining through. Sam didn't realize that he had been stroking Gabriel's wing for half an hour until Dean and Cas barged through the door. Dean froze when he saw Sam, sitting in the middle of the floor, stroking Gabriel's wing. The archangel was fast asleep on his bed, smiling slightly.

"Dude, can you be anymore gay?" Dean asked. Sam threw him a bitchface.

"I can't help it. Came feel his wings, they're incredible. This is what Dean would categorize as a chick-flick moment, but his curiosity was piqued. He moved over and gently touched one of the feathers. His eyes widened slightly. The wings were softer than anything Dean had ever felt, and he couldn't help stroking the length of one of the huge wings.

"Hey Cas, you okay?" Dean asked, for the angel had a look of intense worry on his face. Instead of answering Dean's question, Cas turned to Sam.

"Sam, he has told you about his Grace fluctuations?"

"Yeah, why? Is his Grace doing something?"

"Yes, although I am not sure what will happen. Whatever it is, it will be powerful." The words were hardly out of his mouth when there was the sound of wings flapping and Gabriel was gone. Not even a second later, Cas was, too.

"I thought Gabriel couldn't fly?" Dean looked at Sam and the younger hunter thought he saw a little worry in his brother's eyes, but he didn't know who it was for.

"He can't control his Grace right now. The more the cuffs destroy it, the harder it fights back and sometimes one of his abilities will come back for a little bit."

"Well, that's great. He's basically a bomb." Sam just nodded. He was incredibly worried about Gabriel. The archangel couldn't control his flight, so he could be anywhere. Add the fact that he was asleep, and his chances of surviving if he landed somewhere dangerous were pretty low.

Okay, happy thoughts, Sam told himself. He might not have ended up anywhere too dangerous. And Cas followed him. He'll be fine. To Sam's relief, Cas and Gabe popped in not a second later. The archangel's eyes were huge and he had a look of terror on his face.

"Gabe, are you alright? What happened?" Surprisingly, it was Dean who asked.

Gabriel simply nodded and let out a long breath.

"Cas, where did he end up?"

"He flew to the height of Mt. Everest, over the middle of the Pacific Ocean. He was freefalling when I managed to catch him. At that height, the fall would have killed him when he hit the water."

Sam's eyes were as wide as Gabriel's by now, and even Dean looked a little off.

Gabriel came and put one arm around Cas' shoulders.

"I guess that massage loosened my wings up more than I thought."

"Don't joke about this, you could have died!" Gabriel looked at Dean with confusion in his eyes.

"Didn't know you cared, Dean-o."

"Of course I care." Sam felt a stirring of jealousy at his brothers declaration. Wait, jealousy? Why was he jealous? "You're my friend now, albeit an extremely annoying friend." Sam felt himself calm down again. Weird. And he wasn't the only one who thought so, as he noticed Castiel looking at him with his signature head tilt and eye squint.

Damn, Cas was an empath. He had felt Sam's jealousy over Dean and Gabriel. Hopefully, he wouldn't be able to realize what this meant. Wait, what _did_ this mean?

Sam was broken out of his thoughts when Gabriel snorted.

"Thanks, Dean, that means a lot." Frankly, Sam was surprised. It took a lot for Dean to consider someone his friend, and even more to admit it out loud.

"So what now?" Sam asked.

"I have no idea. I couldn't find any new cases while I was looking at that bar, but we can't stay here. The cops will find those bodies soon enough."

"We could always go to Bobby's place and hang there for a few days."

"Yeah, alright. I'll call him and let him know that we're swinging by." Dean left, pulling out his phone. Sam started to pack up his stuff, Gabriel trailing behind. An hour later they were on the road to Bobby's house. Cas had flown all of their stuff to his house so that there would be more room in the Impala. Dean's phone rang, and Sam didn't miss the way he smiled a little when he saw it was Cas calling.

He told the angel where they were, an a second later he was in the front seat that Sam had left open just for him. Dean's smile got bigger, and Gabriel looked at Sam with his eyebrows raised, smirking. Sam grinned and looked back at the two in the front seat. Dean was looking at Castiel more than the road, and the angel was constantly having to remind Dean to look ahead.

The trip was long, loud, and annoying. Especially when Dean decided to sing along to every single song that he played, and Gabriel joined him. Bobby was waiting outside for them when they pulled up. Sam and Cas practically destroyed the doors in their haste to get out and away from Dean and Gabriel's terrible singing. Thankfully, they finished the song and stopped as soon as the Impala's motor turned off. Sam breathed a sigh of relief, but that didn't last when he saw Gabriel stop suddenly and sway a little.

"Gabe, are you okay?" The archangel didn't answer and Sam knew something was extremely wrong. He got to Gabriel's side just as the angel fell over unconscious, right into Sam's arms.


	9. Chapter 9

"Cas!" Sam lifted Gabriel and carried him past a worried Dean and a confused Bobby into the living room. He placed the archangel on the sofa and touched his neck, feeling for a pulse. He pulled his hands away immediately. Gabriel was burning up, literally, and Sam figured he was at least 150 degrees, judging by how much it had hurt Sam's fingers when he had touched him.

Castiel came in and closed his eyes, placing two fingers to his brother's temple, ignoring the heat. He stayed like that for a few tense moments before opening his eyes and turning to the worried hunters.

"His Grace, it's dying. He is Falling and if we are to save him, we must act quickly."

He paced around the sofa, muttering the whole time. After about a minute, he stopped.

"Yes, it's the only way." He muttered, then he was gone. Sam and Dean were at a loss. They had no idea what to do, but their instincts kicked in and they went into autopilot mode. They put Gabriel fully clothed into an ice bath to try to bring down the fever, but the ice just melted and the water started boiling. So much for that idea.

"Sam, did he tell you what would happen when he Falls?" Dean looked at Sam and saw fury and fear battling for dominance behind unshed tears.

"Yeah, he said that his wings would probably just catch fire." Dean didn't know how to respond to that. What do you say when your archangel friend is losing his Grace because he was kidnapped and tortured because you convinced him to fight his brother, who was much stronger than him? Yeah, Dean didn't know either.

Cas returned not ten minutes later, towing someone the Winchesters had actively been trying to avoid.

"Michael?"

"Hello, Dean. Sam."

"Cas, why did you bring him here?!" Castiel looked at Dean with murder in his eyes.

"Because my brother is dying and Michael is the only one who can help. Only an archangel can remove the cuffs." Michael, wearing a middle aged man with brown hair and blue eyes, turned to Gabriel. His eyes held some emotion they couldn't identify.

"Castiel, when I remove the cuffs, you know what will happen?"

"Yes, I do."

"Do you wish to come with me?"

"Of course." Sam and Dean didn't have a chance to ask what they meant as all three angels vanished, leaving behind three worried hunters. Bobby set about making some type of food while Sam and Dean moped around the house, out of their minds with worry about their angels.

"Um, boys? You might want to come see this." Bobby's voice cut through their thoughts and they filed to the study. They looked out the window to where Bobby was pointing and felt their eyes widen. Way off in a huge field, a small white light was growing steadily larger. Quiet enough that they weren't writhing in pain was the true voice of an angel.

It was their angels, it had to be. Without a word the Winchesters ran out the door and to the Impala. Before they could open the doors there was a huge boom and the white light exploded, sending out a shockwave that threw the hunters back. Groaning, they looked to where they had last seen the light and saw nothing but a large crater.

The brothers opened the car doors and slipped inside, tearing up the road in their haste to get to the crater. Three minutes later, they were standing next to Michael and Cas, both of whom were smiling.

"I'm so glad you're okay." Dean said, grabbing Cas in a desperate hug. Sam ignored them and looked around. He couldn't see Gabriel anywhere.

"Where is he?" Sam asked Michael. Before the archangel could answer Sam heard the sound of wings flapping behind him.

"Miss me, Samsquatch?" There Gabriel stood, his wings hidden once more and his signature smirk on his face. Instead of answering, Sam threw himself into Gabriel's arms and kissed him, ignoring his brother and the other two angels. Gabriel stood frozen for a minute before returning the kiss, standing on his tiptoes to reach Sam's mouth better.

"Dude, I'm standing right here, ya know!" Dean's angry cry made Gabriel and Sam pull apart, both of them breathless and grinning. Sam held Gabriel close to his side, not ready to let him go just yet.

Cas looked at them curiously. Then, his eyes lit up in understanding. He reached up and pulled Dean's head down, crushing their lips together. Dean didn't even hesitate before he pulled Cas flush against him and kissed him back. Michael cleared his throat, loudly.

"Michael." Gabriel looked a little panicked. "Um, thanks. For saving me, I mean."

"You are welcome, brother. But this does not excuse you from all of your crimes. I should have let you Fallen as punishment."

"But you didn't. Why?"

Michael looked at Gabriel for a moment before answering. "Because you are still my little brother, and I still love you. And Lucifer had no right to treat you the way he did. So I am going to let you and the vessels go this one time. Next time we meet, don't expect anything less than your well-deserved punishment." And with that, he was gone.

"What were the crimes he mentioned?" Sam asked. Gabriel rolled his eyes.

"Oh, you know, abandoning Heaven, re-creating myself as a Norse god, trying to stop the Apocalypse, that sort of thing."

He snapped his fingers and smiled delightedly when a lollipop appeared. Castiel and Dean had gone back to making out, and it was veering farther and farther away from PG, so Gabriel flew Sam back to Bobby's. The old hunter was waiting by the front door with a stern expression on his face.

"Explain," was all he said. So Sam sat Bobby down on the couch and explained everything while Gabriel played with his hair. By the time the story was finished, Sam had a lovely fishtail wrapping around his head. Gabriel even added a bow.

"What's up with that?" Bobby asked, referring to him and Gabriel. "And where's Cas and Dean?"

"Cas and Dean are probably now going at it like bunnies, and Sam and I are in love." The nonchalant way that Gabriel said that sentence had both Bobby and Sam choking. "What?"

"You love me?" Sam looked at Gabriel with soft eyes.

"Duh." Gabriel smirked and offered Sam a lollipop. The hunter took it and smiled at his archangel.

"Well, good. Because I love you too."

"I know." They sat on that couch for hours, until the moon was high in the sky and Sam had fallen asleep against Gabriel. Smiling, the archangel snapped his fingers and him and Sam were on Sam's bed. He tucked the hunter in, then shrugged and got under the covers with him. Angels didn't need sleep, but that didn't mean they couldn't.

Gabriel smiled even wider when Sam pulled him against his chest in his sleep. And when Dean and Cas came home in the morning, with flushed cheeks and messy hair, they found their brothers still spooning, fast asleep on the bed. Dean took another picture.

"The blackmail opportunities are endless." He said in response to Cas' confused head tilt.


End file.
